This past weekend was definitely a crazy experience of epic proportions! A few friends and I returned to Cádiz on February 13th in order to see Carnaval – the Roman Catholic version of Mardi gras (celebration before the start of lent). The Carnaval in Cadiz is one of the biggest street festivals in the world. People come from all over Spain, and even Europe, to celebrate!
The bus ride to Cádiz was an adventure all on its own. I’m pretty sure that I never want to be in such a small enclosed place with that many tipsy Americans ever again! Our guide also had some interesting ‘words of wisdom’ to share with the group. “The bus driver doesn't speak English so he doesn't know you're eating. You're not allowed to eat on the bus. Stop eating. - If you get lost, make sure you know where you are. - If you see a fight, run away. There aren't any police. - You'll probably have to pee on the street. But it's okay, if you're a girl you can just go behind a car.” With those lovely and oh so useful tidbits of advice in mind, we departed the bus and headed off into the throngs of thousands of people overtaking Cádiz!
Carnaval is a crazy, crazy place. Even crazier than the “advice” of our bus guide led us to believe! Imagine thousands of people, all dressed up in costumes, socializing and drinking in the streets. We saw people dressed up as everything from heart suckers, clergymen, and chickens to sperm, Avatars, bulls and girl scouts. I don’t even have the words to describe it! Bars and cafes were open but blocked off to prevent property damage so they were selling things through their windows. Random choirs and mini processions would pass by singing at the top of their lungs while others played instruments and banged on drums. In random alleys, we would come across people selling jewelry, scarves, masks…pretty much everything!
The mains plazas in Cádiz were the center of the party. Trying to cross them was an absolute nightmare consisting of pretty much being carried by the mob of people being groped the entire way. I definitely learned how to be aggressive about keeping my personal space that night. I can’t tell you all how often we had to shove people and physically link together to make it through the crowds and to keep the drunken creepers at bay. If I hear ‘rubia, rubia’ (blond, blond) one more time, I cannot be made responsible for my actions! Needless to say, we ended up avoided the plazas!!
At about 3:00 AM, I realized that my shoes were soaked through… I thought to myself ‘wow. That’s weird. It hasn’t rained recently’ then I suddenly realized that my shoes were not soaked with water but rather with urine! ¡Que horrible! At that point, I was starting to get tired and cranky but we were stick in Cádiz until our bus at 5:30 AM. Done with the party, we grabbed churros y chocolate and people watched for the remainder of the time.
Overall the night was a strange mixture of surreal encounters and fun times. It was great to spend time with friends just taking in the madness around us. We were finally able to leave Cádiz and crashed into our beds at a wonderful 7:00 AM the next morning. I’m glad I was able to experience Carnaval once but it is definitely a once in a lifetime only sort of experience!
No comments:
Post a Comment